So how did the Raps beat the Mavs without their so called "stars" Lowry and Bargnani?

I know:

- Raps played great TEAM defence
- Shot selection is so much better
- Ball movement
- Effort
- Communication on D

That's it. They're like a completely different team without those two. They look like an NBA team again.

Problem with their so called stars is, with Lowry. He always takes unnecessary/forced/dumb shots in crucial situation. He always plays hero ball. His shot selection is just brutal. And his D in my opinion is just as bad as Calderon.

Not crapping on Kyle. He's a talented player. But right now he's a liability to this team. Main thing that he needs to improve is his shot selection. When to shoot and when to pass.

As for Bargnani, i can go on and on about this guy. Where to start? Below average defender, worst rebounding 7footer in the history of the game, no awareness in his game, shoots whenever he gets the ball. Enough already.

"Analytics DON'T work at all. It's some crap that people that are really smart made up to get in the game. Bunch of smart guys who have never played. The NBA is about TALENT" - Charles Barkley #Truth

Well, this was a welcomed suprise. I didn't expect the Raptors to even have a chance of winning till Cleveland.

Bargnani needs to go. I don't think the team appreciates him calling then the worst in the league. This guy even affects the team negatively even when he's not on the court.

Lowry has issues. I would have the team move him for someone who wants to play PG not HG (hero guard. However, I'm willing to put up with him till the trade deadline. Maybe Casey can get through to him.

Why did Jonas and Ed see such reduced minutes tonight? I expect to play at least 36 min a game.

For those of you guys that have issues with watching the games on nba league pass due to blackouts, get a VPN, they are cheap, a few bucks a month, and you can be in any country. Configuring windows to use one is not that hard, most sites have a FAQ on how to set it up, you can do it in less then a minute. You then connect to your vpn like you would to a wireless connection and viola, you are in timbaktu.

Ball movement was key tonight. The floor spacing actually looks better with Bargnani out and the Raps look like they are going to have a consistent offensive rebounding advantage against a lot of teams in the league. Ed, Amir, and even Val all get on the boards in a big way and our wings are all pretty athletic. Add Lowry to that mix and you have a nasty bunch of athletes to deal with.
I think Lowry can still be a very big part of this teams future if he can learn not to cheat so much on D and how to pass a bit more. This style we are seeing of hitting the offensive boards and swarming on D is right up his ally.
One thing that we need to get more of is points in the paint. tonight the shots fell for us but we need to get more easy buckets. It will come as the offense adjusts to having bigs who roll and don't pop.

"When Life gives you lemons, you clone those Lemons to make super lemons!"
-Scudworth

Well, this was a welcomed suprise. I didn't expect the Raptors to even have a chance of winning till Cleveland.

Bargnani needs to go. I don't think the team appreciates him calling then the worst in the league. This guy even affects the team negatively even when he's not on the court.

Lowry has issues. I would have the team move him for someone who wants to play PG not HG (hero guard. However, I'm willing to put up with him till the trade deadline. Maybe Casey can get through to him.

Why did Jonas and Ed see such reduced minutes tonight? I expect to play at least 36 min a game.

You did notice that they won right? Does it really matter who gets what minutes if the team wins.

Uncle Kleiza had a great game. Loose whistle. Mav shot terribly from outside. Casey let the 2nd unit with momentum stay on the floor.

yup .. dont mean to burst the bubble .. since we did play well. BUT - Dal was ice cold from the outside and we were red hot. 36 point differential on 3s .. you arent gonna lose many games when that happens. Was our D better? Ya .. a little better. I would say our defensive rebounding was way better (although Dal played small most of the game).

Bottom line, T Ross got hot, LK got hot .. and if they do that (in addition to solid games from the regulars), this team will win a lot of games. Unfortunately we know that LK is either VERY hot (tonight) or VERY not (more often than not). And, as much as I love Ross .. hes a rook too .. so he will continue to be up and down with stinkers like Brooklyn and nice games like tonight.

Well, this was a welcomed suprise. I didn't expect the Raptors to even have a chance of winning till Cleveland.

Bargnani needs to go. I don't think the team appreciates him calling then the worst in the league. This guy even affects the team negatively even when he's not on the court.

Lowry has issues. I would have the team move him for someone who wants to play PG not HG (hero guard. However, I'm willing to put up with him till the trade deadline. Maybe Casey can get through to him.

Why did Jonas and Ed see such reduced minutes tonight? I expect to play at least 36 min a game.

ya, ina battle for first place in my head-to-head league and couldn't believe casey sat demar, ed and jose that long. needed those points but glad we got the win